SIOPAO VERSUS DONUT

It was almost 11am and there's Kirby, my nephew; Rowel, my brother and myself sitting inside a small canteen beside the ENT clinic in Bauang for Rowel's check up for his frequent sneezing. 'Tho we came early, there were other two who came earlier than us so I decided to bring both to a nearby barber shop while we wait for our turn. As their reward for having consented to a haircut of my choice, we proceeded to Dunkin' Donuts for a 9-piece variety of classic donuts. Kirby took the chance to purchase the 3 Transformer collectibles from the store. We left the store, him very happy with his Optimus Prime, Bumble Bee and Drift collectibles.

While waiting for the doctor, we sat down at the canteen for our 8-oz Pepsi while we munch our donuts. There's an old man, about early 50's, a woman, maybe late 40's and another little boy, about 4-5 years old who man the canteen. When we started eating, the young boy started crying. The woman asked the girl who dropped by at the store to go to 7-11 convenience store to buy siopao for the boy. When she came back, I'm done with my Bavarian creme and heard the woman shouting at the boy. She said that should he woke up early, he should have taken breakfast and now he's pale and weak. She insisted to have him take a bite of the siopao and eat. She let him choose between pepsi or cobra for a drink. He chose cobra in strawberry flavor. While the boy was trying to eat, the woman kept on yelling at the little boy, telling him the consequences of staying up late, of playing outside the house under the sun, of not eating sufficiently, etc etc. I can see the boy taking small bites of his siopao. I thought he didn't like much what was there for his snacks. He look small for his age, his arms almost as small as my encircled thumb and pointfinger. And he looks very weak. I couldn't help but to ask the woman if his son was sick. The woman said he's not a son, he's a nephew. She showed me a picture of him when he was "chubby and not like now" look. The boy was so cute in the picture, full bodied and happy.

Still cringing during every bite of his siopao, I offered him our donut. I could see his face lighten up a bit. I showed him what's left in the box- 2 chocolate flavored donuts, 1 candy filled and one Boston creme. He chose the colorful candy filled donut. The aunt instructed him to say thank you. Just after he took his share, he immediately grabbed a bite, chewed and swallowed and followed by another bite. I thought he must have liked the donut than the siopao. After his second bite, I was then told that it's Rowel's turn to see the doctor. I went inside the clinic to hear what the doctor might say of my brother's condition having totally forgotten about the boy. We went home a bit exhausted but remembering what happened this morning, I thought I am lucky. I am lucky and happy that I am given the chance to make someone happy today. 

You see, everyday we get the chance to do good to someone and when we do and act upon that chance, no matter how they look or what the circumstance maybe, no matter how young or old these people maybe, or no matter if someone sees or no one ever get to see, indeed, "doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure" and I can testify that doing good to someone brings happiness and joy and meaning to our existence. May we continue to share our helping hands and bring joy to our lives, for this is what it meant to live!